SouthFLpix

Absolutely. I have no doubt that in 20 years almost every new bicycle will be sold with an electronic shifting system the way almost every bicycle now is sold with index shifting. Fully mechanical bikes will be available for niche markets, but the mainstream will eat up electronic shifting.

My bike shop actually makes a profit selling 'tune-ups' to people that buy their bikes and don't know how to adjust their cable tension for proper shifting after normal stretching. Most people need a bike shop for anything more complex than a flat tire change. The people on these forums are by definition enthusiasts, so more mechanically minded than the average buyer.

Telling someone that all they have to do is charge a battery every few months and all their shifting will be flawless without the need for adjustment is a huge selling point. We just need the prices to come down.

keithm0

This.

And that.

ThermionicScott 

+1. It's easy to forget that electronic shifting will be a boon to many/most riders, who just want their bikes to work. Sort of like how computerized ignition has displaced distributors and fuel injection has displaced carburetors. Sure, there are some of us who like how simple and serviceable the old technology was, but we're in the minority.

That said, I personally voted "no", since I don't mind pulling a little cable to shift and I like working on my stuff.

BarracksSi

Shimano doesn't, but Versa does. At least for Alfine 11sp and Alfine/Nexus 8sp IGHs.
https://www.sussex.com.tw/versa.html

mconlonx

...and JTek offers an 8sp bar end mechanical option. The post I was responding to was bemoaning the fact that here Shimano is coming out with electronic stuff when they don't even offer a mechanical option... at least for the drop bar shifters.

There's plenty of people (non-commuter bike enthusiasts) who would love Dura Ace Di2, are excited about Ultegra Di2. At the Trek-specific shop where I work; we'll be stocking the Madone 5.9 on the floor, which I'm sure will inevitably lead to sales. In the other shop I work, we'll be carrying some Spot brand IGH city bikes and when this new IGH electronic shifting comes out, I'll be bugging our Shimano rep for a system ASAP to retrofit one of them so the people who inevitably ask for it will have something to test out.

Breathegood

I would love one but I think it's going to be prohibitavely expensive for the intended target market on anything but a new bike. A quick search for the Alfine 11 hub and corresponding Versa shifter would have the average commuter spending between $600-650 for a chain drive version. I'm not likely to spend that much on my commuter, and I don't believe most other commuters out there would either. I might consider it at $650 if that included the cost of belt drive components and dynamo.....not likely.

The other flaw I see is planned obsolescence. A properly maintained mechanical setup will outlast the rider. Even the best batteries have a limited number of charge cycles. It may work great for the first few years, but unless it's made to use something universal like a AA or coin style battery, there is no guaranty that there will be an available battery when the original can no longer be recharged. I have no intention of getting rid of the first nice bike I bought in 1991, nor any of the others I've purchased since any time soon. I don't see any battery lasting 20 years.

Schwinnrider

Nope. I'm already seriously considering installing a dynamo hub on my touring/commuting bike so I don't have to worry about batteries. Having to remember to recharge another battery so I could shift the bike is a no-go. Plus I don't like brifters, so I don't think this system is for me.

fietsbob

No mention on what the SRP on that stuff is gonna be ? $2k+? on a $4K bike?

looking thru the pictures , from source site,
I've never seen a Zip Tie hydraulic hose/cable housing guide, that was itself Zip tied on..
and this was an exhibition prepped bike..
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/articl...pictures-33229

modernjess

I understand why they've developed it and the long term implications for sales and service revenue so I do not fault them for going for it. It just doesn't appeal to me on any level.

Erick L

What would be cool is a bike with no wires at all. Integrated rear rack with built-in light. Lights and shifting running off dynamo, computer and usb plug integrated in the stem cap, also running off dynamo.

rfomenko

Electronic brifters but not the mechanical verision? Where are their priorities? I know, there are Versa shifters but they are not refined, expensive & there is no choice of others.

BarracksSi

I want to say that it's because they already have the parts from the DA and Ultegra Di2 brifters.

idc

Agreed. Dynamo that powers lights, shifting, basic bike computer, USB. I would also prefer a belt drive if this was to be the configuration.

As alan s said, wait 10 years.

mconlonx

...and they'll build just this and people will still find reasons to complain about it and not buy it in droves.

biketrouble

I've been wondering for a while (ever since Di2 came out) whether we'll eventually see some kind of standardized "system bus" that gets built into frames so all of the electronic components can be hooked up - both for power and communication purposes. So you could have one battery (or dynamo, of course) for everything, and components can be plugged in via short cable runs to sockets built into the frame.

hueyhoolihan

one of the things i've always admired about the commuter bicylist is their practicality.

i find it difficult to reconcile a group of people that would simultaneously embrace a hub that generates electricity from the sweat of their brow and a device that requires batteries too move a shifting mechanism.

twinquad

Even practical, dynohub-equipped commuters have batteries in their computers, and often even their taillights. With the range of the Di2 system, it's really more like these applications than a headlight battery that has to be recharged approximately weekly.

The main appeal of electronic shifting is not the reduction of brow-sweat, but the minimal need to move the hands, which improves bike control, and the increased precision and speed of shifting and the reduced need for adjustment. I'd love a system like this for my Rohloff, with its jury-rigged twist shifter on my drop bars, and its tendency to stiffen up when moisture in the lines freezes. But I'm not going to jettison my mechanical Rohloff for a Di2 Alfine, and I'm not really an early-adopter type anyway. Maybe the next bike, in 10 years or so…

fbi

Is is retro-fittable ?
I already have a 11s Alfine hub. If the Di2 "module" could be added, (all) fine !
I don't want to have to buy a new hub, and rebuild my rear wheel...
And what about Gates Carbondrive (belt) compatibility ?
Cheers

whitecat

No way. Only makes us more dependent on flashy electronic gizmos that are not needed. Makes a bike needlessly more failure prone, more heavy, more expensive, more dtached from what a bike really IS - a simple mechanical device, NOT an electronic overload. A stupid idea, but nevertheless, will probably catch on in mass consumer public as most stupid ideas do.

kaliayev

Electric shifting does not interest me in the least. Don't hate electronics just don't see any need on my bikes.

BarracksSi

1. No. Well, that's my guess.

2. Maybe -- it might only need the Gates-compatible sprocket.

It won't be on the market 'til this fall, remember.

Drew Eckhardt 

Drawbacks: It's an IGH with widely spaced gears.

Most of us have at least one (cell phone) or two (cell phone and laptop) rechargeable batteries that we depend on, and once you've made that leap adding a few more (head light, tail light, bike computer) isn't a big deal as long as they let you know their batteries are getting low.